The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Union Minister has denied making statement on Palar”

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Tuesday, Jun 23, 2009
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“Union Minister has denied making statement on Palar”

Special Correspondent

On environmental clearance for AP reservoir project

Durai Murugan was replying to demand for grants in Assembly
Panel to be set up to prepare project for modernising Bhavani distribution system

CHENNAI: Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has denied making any statement that he will give environmental clearance in 15 days for the Andhra Pradesh government’s project for a reservoir across the Palar (at Ganeshapuram in Kuppam taluk), Public Works and Law Minister Durai Murugan told the Assembly on Monday.

Replying to a debate on demand for grants to the Public Works Department, the Minister said on Sunday he spoke to Mr. Ramesh, who told him that he had neither made any such statement nor read news items based on the purported statement.

(Responding to concerns expressed by members in the House on Friday last over the reports, Mr. Durai Murugan had promised to take up the issue with Mr. Ramesh)

Lower Bhavani Dam

Noting that 60 years had passed since the work on the Lower Bhavani dam’s distribution system was taken up, the Public Works Minister said the canals had remained unlined since then. In many places, they had been damaged. So, a proposal had been drawn up for modernising the distribution system. The government would constitute a committee for preparing a project.

The proposal of linking the Pennaiyar with the Cheyyar river at a cost of Rs.174 crore was being considered by the Central Water Commission for Central assistance under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).

Mr. Durai Murugan told the House that coastal protection works, numbering 111 and estimated to cost about Rs.666 crore, had been proposed. Financial support from the 13th Finance Commission had been sought.

Pointing out that the government had proposed the Rs.5,100-crore Cauvery Modernisation Project for funding of the World Bank, he said the multilateral agency was reluctant in view of the inter-State dispute factor. However, he was confident of getting the assistance.

When Pattali Makkal Katchi leader G.K. Mani wanted to know what steps had been taken by the State government for nationalisation of rivers, Mr. Durai Murugan responded that the State government was not against nationalisation.

The Minister said that in the last three years, 2,397 persons had been recruited by the PWD.

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